


I (Kinda) (Maybe) Like You

by JenelleLucia



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: F/M, I've been super invested in TaiBani lately gosh, Something I came up with on a whim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6113572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenelleLucia/pseuds/JenelleLucia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Barnaby and Karina depend on magazine articles to tell them if their feelings really do mean something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I (Kinda) (Maybe) Like You

_You think you're in love? Here are the surefire signs that let you know that yes, you are in love._

And Karina and Barnaby need those signs. _Very, very badly_. 

* * *

_I _._ He frustrates you, yet you still tolerate him _

"That was such a cheap shot, I swear! I almost had it!" Karina had come stomping into the gym, face red, cheeks puffed, and eyebrows knitted that she almost looked like an angry squirrel. But no, this was a very angry, very exhausted, post-broadcast Karina Lyle (who spent fifteen minutes in her transport fuming while she was getting her makeup removed and her hair defrosted) who spent the whole broadcast trying to settle points in for her company only to have them be taken by...

"The free points were a good steal, Karina. You and I both know that." 

Barnaby had then walked in behind her, running a hand through his hair smoothly. He had once again topped for the season - not that it bothered her at all, but she still managed to snag a few points for capturing some of the criminals in the getaway car and some rescue points just five minutes later - and she did have to admit that the way he was able to pull off making the arrest was just...cool. 

"You're still not mad about me making the arrest, are you?" 

She had cooled down quite considerably by then. "No..." 

He smirked then, which only made Karina huff and roll her eyes and turn away. 

"I hate you."

(She really doesn't mean that, though...) 

* * *

  _II. It doesn't matter what you say_

"So, if I moved in that way I'm pretty sure the attack point in the other direction wouldn't be valid." 

"I'm surprised you thought of all that on a whim." Karina was doing crunches on the floor with Barnaby holding her feet down, replying to her every word as she came up and down in the floor exercise. 

"I've been doing this for a while now." 

"The crunches?" 

 _His. attitude._ "No! I've been a hero for a while now! I know what I'm doing!" 

Barnaby only chuckled as he watched Karina lay down on the floor, giving up after what seemed to be the fifth crunch she had done today. "Yet you only did five crunches?" 

"Shut up!" 

There was a moment of silence before Karina spoke up again. "You think that the cafe nearby is open?" 

"Are you paying?" 

"You're funny, Barnaby." 

* * *

  _III. You'll make life harder for him_

"You sure you can't make it after the broadcast?" 

"Can't, I'm sorry. I have a music video to shoot later, and then I have a photoshoot after that. You can't reschedule it?" 

Barnaby swallowed slightly before speaking into the phone. Karina's voice was muffled on the other end, but he could tell from the way the tone of her voice sounded it was apologetic. He still found it hard to believe that she was being apologetic towards an event of his that she'd have to miss, but as they started getting closer, he was getting used to it. "I'm already at the place. And if I'm not there in ten minutes, the old man's going to start looking for me." 

"Alright. I'll probably give him an earful later for keeping you out. Good luck." 

"You too." 

Once Barnaby had hung up, a small sigh had escaped his lips before pocketing his phone and turning on his heel to take a step inside the building so that he could get the press conference over with, albeit very begrudgingly. 

As the press conference went on though, his attention, while keeping alert on the media and on Kotetsu (as the old man was very keen on peeking over and being as nosy as hell), he decided to send Karina a quick text. 

 _'Busy?'_ he was a quick typer, and in just a nanosecond Karina was already typing back. 

_'Nah. Just getting ready to shoot.'_

_'...'_

_'HEY AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TIGER?!'_

He was about to reply when she sent another message. 

_'GOD, PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY AND LOOK PROFESSIONAL! I SHOULDN'T BE THE ONE LECTURING YOU ABOUT THIS!'_

He was about to laugh, but Kotetsu was already looking over and giving him a knowing glance. 

* * *

_I_ _V. You're willing to run errands with her_

"Thanks again for coming with me," Karina didn't have to look up at Barnaby walking up next to her with the grocery list in hand. When they had entered the store, there were people who already had eyes on them and the taller didn't hesitate to pull her into the nearest aisle in order to hide. Even so, they could still hear the whispers of people as they walked by, grocery baskets in hand and a small list in the other. It was technically for Nathan, who had asked Karina to go out and get the items needed because he was going to cook for the new guy he was inviting over. 

And even though it was just for her, Barnaby had decided to tag along anyway. 

( _"Just cause"_ was his reason.) 

"You don't have to thank me. I did this out of my own volition," he simply answered, reading off the grocery list and picking off the items one by one - or the ones that she couldn't reach, anyway - and ended up adding a few more pounds to the once empty grocery basket. By the time they reached the counter, Sternbild's Ice Queen was already having trouble holding up the basket, and ignoring her protests Barnaby took it from her and switched it with the grocery list. 

"You know, I was just fine holding up on my own." 

"You say that every broadcast." 

"This is no different!" Barnaby simply gave her the look after that and continued on to pay and give her a ride back to Nathan's, where eventually they did meet the guy Nathan had invited over for dinner. 

The entire time, though, Karina would sneak a smile over at Barnaby. And he'd return the smile with a genuine one of his own. 

* * *

_V. You can talk about bodily functions with him/her_

Barnaby and Karina, upon reading this part, turned beet red and skipped it over while trying to ignore Pao Lin and Kotetsu's worried cries. They might have started to get close, but not this close. 

They then skipped it and refused to come back to this section before moving on to the next.

* * *

  _VI. Even just two minutes is worth it_

It was after the arrest they had made together - oddly enough, the viewers were already taking in the Bunny/Rose interactions and Agnes was drinking up the ratings with no problem at all - and once the cameras were off of them that they could relax. 

"Are you doing anything later?" Barnaby asked, flipping his visor up as he watched her set her guns into the holsters at her sides. 

"Uhh...I have a photoshoot and I'm meeting up with the execs. Why?" Karina answered, then blinking for a moment to see if she was seeing what she thought was his face falling and his expression glum. 

Very unlike the potential King of Heroes.

"I mean, other than meeting up with Mr. Lloyds, I had nothing to do," he answered. _Oh._  

"Um, uh..." 

"Blue Rose!" 

"Bunny!" 

Karina looked back at the voices calling them before looking back at the much taller blond in front of her. "I have to get going, but I'll text you later. Sounds good?" 

"That's still good." 

Karina only smiled, then waving before disappearing amidst the people, the police cars, the media, and the rest of the transports. She might have gotten crap later about being late, but she had to admit. 

Those last two minutes out by the crime scene were actually so worth it.

* * *

  _VII. She makes you want to yell a lot_

It was very uncharacteristic of the former rookie hero, just sitting there in the parked Titan Industry transport with Karina opposite him. 

"Yeah, and she was just like, 'I don't really think I did much!' and I was like, gaping but come _on_!" Karina was laughing, and the story honestly was just too funny that he instantaneously let out a loud laugh. That was totally unlike him. It even made Karina laugh. 

(Funny. Kotetsu was always the one to make Karina laugh...) 

"I think you're enjoying yourself a little too much," the much shorter blonde had come down from her high, wiping a stray tear as she sat back on the plush couch in her transport and plucked a jelly bean out of his offering open palm. "I guess there might be something in the jelly beans." 

There possibly was. Or Barnaby just found himself genuinely beginning to enjoy her company. 

(Who knew.) 

* * *

  _VIII. The time you waste with him doesn't feel wasted_

It really felt special, the times they had just the two of them. 

Karina was scrolling through the article, sitting on the bench and skimming word for word. But was it true, though? She knew deep down that she was enjoying the times she spent with Barnaby so far. Time seemed to stop for them, if anything. It all must have meant something in the end if she was reading into these. 

"You know, honey, if you keep reading into these you might get wrinkles." 

Nathan was teasing. She knew he was, now that she was looking up to see him with a bemused expression on his face. Karina, in return, flushed a bright pink as she waved it off and got up from the bench to go and run on the treadmill once more. 

Nathan didn't miss seeing the smile Karina flashed Barnaby, and the small one that he returned to her when he was well on his way to lift.

* * *

  _IX. You have a lot of questions for her_

She already knew about him. Because of Maverick, Karina knew _all_ she needed to know about him. 

 _All_ was really an understatement. Karina didn't know a lot about him. And she was a complete mystery to Barnaby. She never talked about her private life unless she was with Nathan or Pao Lin, and they were getting ready to start working out in the early afternoon. 

So, he was getting ready to know more. 

 _This was not a date_ , he supposed. This really wasn't. This was just two acquaintances, co-workers, friends as he moved up the relationship scale, getting to know more about each other and learning each other's deepest darkest secrets and fears and worries and anxieties and everything. 

And she was open. As open as Karina Lyle could be. 

She didn't push him or anything when he failed to remember something. And he didn't interrupt her when she went on about a distant memory that she had when she was younger. 

All he did was ask her questions. 

All she did was answer them. 

( _He learned more than he could have ever hoped to know._ )

* * *

  _X. Everything makes you think of him_

That bunny plush she and the others got him for his birthday. 

( _Karina saw it everywhere._ ) 

And when she sees glasses on a window display that looked exactly like his. 

_(God, that reminded Karina of Barnaby, too.)_

She kind of wanted a nice evening stroll to herself. She was walking home after a shift one of the clubs she was asked to perform at tonight, and instinctively, she was already playing one of his favorite songs. No one pointed out what it was. She was just playing along. 

Today at the gym. The treadmill. He always ran at a speed that was a number or two higher than her own. 

Barnaby was occupying her every thought more than she ever imagined he would.

* * *

  _XI. He/She scares the shit out of you_

The article said so itself. 

Barnaby could only sit there, setting his phone down as he clasped his hands together and stared at the heading of the article. This was all so new and surreal and terrifying and this... 

...This was no broadcast. This was him, evaluating the feelings he's known for possibly one person and one person alone. 

After a moment of silence, he whipped out his phone and typed in, ' _I have something to tell you.'_  

In the meanwhile, Karina was just sitting crosslegged on her plush couch in her transport as she tried to comprehend the article she read. This was real. Sure, there were plenty of articles that went on about feelings and emotions and junk, but this one was straight to the point. This one told her all she needed to know. 

_'That's funny. I have something to tell you, too.'_

_'I kinda...'_

_''Maybe...'_

_Like you._  

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this is post-Rising? I haven't seen many Barnaby/Karina fics here (or just around in general) and I thought that I might try my hand. Hope it worked x3


End file.
